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Hello, new member and bird owner here!

Hello, the names Courtney and as I mentioned Iím new to TF. Actually, on a whole Iím new to being a bird owner and will be picking up my newly adopted Tiel ĎNoDoeí this Thursday after a long two week wait and home visits!

Simply put Iím a animal lover, Iíve owned and trained service dogs in the past though itís been three years since my last pup left our farm so I kinda miss insanely smart animals. I have two lovely old lady catís I adopted named Samantha and Taco, who are now spoiled girls that really donít leave my fluffy bed unless they hear the can opener. Then there are my lovely two rescue horses, which my soon to be father in law and I have spent years training to trust people and be ridden again. Letís just say Iíve a soft spot for anything mistreated.

So back to NoDoe, originally we went to our local pet store to pick up cat food and they were having an adoption event. We couldnít resist at least giving some attention to the animals there before this little Tiel latched onto my fiancť. Apparently lumberjack beards make a great perching spot and he just nuzzled right in and started to groom him, love at first sight and how could we say no! The name comes from NoToe because the poor little guy is missing a couple of his claws. In fact his feet look more like human hands with the missing nails oddly enough. My boy had been wanting a bird since late fall/early winter and we just hadnít had any luck finding a bird that suited us as they kind of still intimidate me (They are so tiny compared to horses and shepherds), so this guy getting along with both of us we took it as a sign.

Iíve been spending the two week waiting period prepping for him, and wracking my brain with all the information online and figured meeting some of you folks and getting your opinion is my best option.

Cage size? Does 24x20x36 seem about right, I read the bigger the cage the happier the bird. Weíve already got a javawood stand for the kitchen, my office/studio and then the little play stand for the living room. Iíve got about five toys for the cage, three are those silly smart toys with the ring the bell or pull out draws to get a treat type of deal and two are shredables. Aside from perches, his swing, food/water bowls, cuttlebone and millet spray what do you recommend?

Food? I tend to feel all natural holistic to my cats and want to do the same for the little guy. Today we did a Trader Joeís run for organic fruits and veggies for him. My question lies in, should we add seed or pellets to the mix and if so what kind? Also, raw nuts or just unsalted as a rare special treat?

Perches? Due to his missing nails will and should that affect the perches in the cage? Will he still be able to grip onto them naturally, the cage they had him in had those thin wooden dowel like bars.

Flight suits? Iím a freelance artist and I want him to enjoy spending time with me while I work, but with my computer and obviously paintings I canít have him messing on it. Should I just keep him out of the room as a whole, or do flight suits work well as a type of birdy diaper?
I think thatís it for now? Any other advice to a first time bird owner?

Re: Hello, new member and bird owner here!

Hi, Courtney, and welcome to the community! You and your fiance' are just two of many of us that "fell in love" with a little bird, no matter what species it might be. Tiels do have a way of stealing our hearts, and it sounds like NoDoe did just that. You have asked some great questions, and I know there will be others who will stop by and answer them too. I will give my opinion on some of them, but some I won't be able to answer. The cage size you list seems adequate to me and it sounds like you are going to give NoDoe out of cage time too. Also, the toys you list are great ones. I like to change-out my tiels toys so that she always has some new one in her cage. They like variety, and my tiel, Ollie, has two that are her favorites. I don't take those out and change them. Fresh fruits and veggies are the best for your tiel. I feed red lettuce, parsley (limited amounts only about 3 times a week), broccoli, carrots, celery, whole wheat bread, or toast, grapenuts. As to the seed/pellets, I give my two birds Harrison fine pellets, which I think are the absolute best and I mix seed in with my pellets. Some folks like to feed pellets only. Personally, I like to mix the seeds and pellets. My formula is about 30% pellet to 70% seed.

Tiels love jewelry, earrings, rings, your hair, etc. to play with when they are sitting on your shoulder or climbing around on your body. And they also LOVE computer keys. I've read some posts where the tiels literally pick the keys out of the keyboard, so yes, it probably is a good idea to have your computer off limits if you are not there with him when he is around it.

I've never used flight suits so I can't reply to that idea. I have read posts where some folks like them, and others don't care much for them.

Personally, I wouldn't have a cat around a little tiel that is out of cage, because of the fear of the cat snatching the bird. Some folks have both out at the same time and don't seem to have problems. That is your own decision to make.

Re: Hello, new member and bird owner here!

Welcome to Tailfeathers. You will find answers to your questions and much advice on this site if you need to seek it. Appears you like many types of animals. I like dogs and horses also. Cats ok too. Post photos of any pets you have.Of any species.

Re: Hello, new member and bird owner here!

Hi Courtney, Welcome to the site!

You can buy human grade organic seed mixes from a few companies. One I use to really love is Goldenfeast, http://www.goldenfeastfoods.com/ They have all kinds of different mixes so I can’t really recommend which a tiel would like but my lovie use to get the Petite hookbill. Another good company is http://totallyorganics.com I sprouted the seed mix and my bird devoured it. My bird lived his entire life eating Volkman Science diet seed, http://birdseed.com/shop/product/coc...-no-sunflower/ , he loved it. It isnt organic but it is natural with no added preservatives in it and it is super clean. I personally like the 30% pellets, 30% seeds and the rest was usually made up with him eating "flock" meals with us. Most birds usually want to eat what you are eating and our bird actually had his own special place on our table so he would eat with us.

I used rope perches for my lovie but just recently we had someone on this forum that had a bird who ingested some of the rope and it ended up killing him so I can’t say if they would be safe for your NoDoe or not. If he dont like ripping things up I would say they would be safe for your tiel. I loved always having a nice flat perch for them to sleep on. They make flat perches made of Manu block which is a clay that they like to chew on and they are nice platforms for birds to easily stand on without any troubles. I didnt use dowels for my cage and instead used wooden branches that are bird safe, we have lots manzanita where I live so I used that. If you search here there are posts telling you which wood is bird safe and which isnt.

I think it is great your NoDoe picked your fiancť because they always say let the bird out who they like and it is obvious he loved your fiancť so it sounds like a perfect match.